US Justice Department accuses Chinese military members of hacking U.S. companies

Evan Perez and Ashley Fantz CNN

9:01 AM, May 19, 2014

11:05 AM, May 19, 2014

(CNN) -- U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced Monday that members of the Chinese military have engaged in hacking into U.S. businesses and entities, including U.S. Steel Corp., Westinghouse, Alcoa, Allegheny Technologies, the United Steel Workers Union and SolarWorld.

The victims of the hacking operate in Pennsylvania, and a grand jury in that state returned an indictment against members of the Chinese military, accusing them of hacking to spy and steal secrets, Holder said.

These will be the first ever charges against Chinese state officials for what the U.S. says is a widespread problem, officials told CNN before Holder's remarks at a news conference in Washington.

Holder said he hopes the Chinese government will work with U.S. officials to bring the offenders to justice.

The Justice Department intends to try the accused in the United States.